


Culture

by kafrickinboom



Series: Voltron WLW Month [10]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Altean Customs, But this isn't actually an Artist AU, Courtship, Cuban Lance (Voltron), Culture, F/F, Fluff, Genderbending, Lance (Voltron) is Good at Feelings, Lance (Voltron) is an Artist, Marriage Proposal, Oh yeah Lance is half-Louisiana Creole, Pre-Relationship, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, VLD WLW Month, Voltron WLW Month 2017, like a lot of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-10
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-12-13 14:18:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11761692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kafrickinboom/pseuds/kafrickinboom
Summary: When Landa started dating Allura, she’d been so pumped! She’d fully expected to maybe woo her new girlfriend by taking her on dates- going out to eat, making her dinner here on the castle-ship, finding something like a movie experience on one of the many planets they stopped by along their way to kicking Galra ass. Maybe hold hands, maybe get a kiss (or more) at the end.What she hadn’t expected was full-on courting. As inshewas expected to courtAllurabecause she was royalty and in Altean culture, ‘one must be courted, Landa. We shall all see if this relationship can work between you and the princess after your efforts are made.’ (Thanks for the words of encouragement, Coran.)





	Culture

**Author's Note:**

> ??????????????
> 
> Language notes:  
> Dios- God  
> Maldición- damn it

When Landa started dating Allura, she’d been so pumped! She’d fully expected to maybe woo her new girlfriend by taking her on dates- going out to eat, making her dinner here on the castle-ship, finding something like a movie experience on one of the many planets they stopped by along their way to kicking Galra ass. Maybe hold hands, maybe get a kiss (or more) at the end.

What she  _ hadn’t _ expected was full-on courting. As in  _ she _ was expected to court  _ Allura _ because she was royalty and in Altean culture, ‘one must be courted, Landa. We shall all see if this relationship can work between you and the princess after your efforts are made.’ (Thanks for the words of encouragement, Coran.)

What does that even mean? Like, okay, she understands what courtship is. Pre-dating gestures of love and intention or whatever, but...she’d never done that before! She’d always just asked someone out and if they said yes, bam! They’re dating! Things were good and fun! She’d never had to come up with ‘efforts’ to prove she cared for the princess.

Also, whose courtship customs was she supposed to follow here? Earth’s or Altea’s? Because she only knows a bit about it from the Earth side of things, but would be completely clueless about Altea’s. She could ask Coran, of course, but she’s pretty sure she’d be in for an hour or more of lecture. If he could compile a list of shit she should do, that’d be cool. Not actual  _ things _ she needs to  _ do, _ but like...how many ‘efforts’ should she be giving, how far apart should these gifts be given, is there anything that Alteans would find rude if gave it to them, was Allura allergic to anything- 

She sighed. She was going to have to ask Coran.  _ Maldición. _

\---

Landa was torn between being appreciative that Coran was so willing to help, and wanting to tear her hair out from the stress of how long this checklist was becoming. They were at  _ number twelve _ already, and it didn’t look like Coran was losing steam anytime soon. 

She definitely, 100% did  _ not _ regret asking Allura out, but if she’d known the princess wanted to be courted, Landa would have taken her time to learn about Altea’s cultural customs and, like, prepared for this shit. Because  _ wow, _ is the next three months of her life going to be a study in aggravation, anxiety and whatever the vagina’s equivalent of blue balls was. 

Still, it’ll be totally worth it to finally be able to say Allura is hers (and vice versa). She’s only been hardcore pining for her since the day Allura stumbled out of her cryo pod and into her arms. Back then it was purely a physical attraction. How can you be emotionally, mentally, soulfully attracted to someone you’ve never even met, right? Anyway, over the course of the last year or so of dishing out her best pick-up lines and playful banter that had somewhere along the way turned into more honest conversations and real feelings that almost bowled Landa over by the intensity of them.

She’d come to learn just how amazing Allura was- strong, resilient, charismatic, empathetic, loyal, compassionate, warm and self-assured. Sure, she could be stubborn and aloof at times, but it was always when she genuinely thought she knew what was best for the team. It was frustrating, but she always came around when it came down to the wire (provided she was wrong, of course). She went through so much shit that Landa couldn’t even fully process- losing her entire family? Her culture? Her entire  _ civilization? _ Landa would have lost her damn mind if she wasn’t confident that Earth was pretty safe for now, if she didn’t know that her family was safe, if she lost the cultural things that made her  _ her. _ Needless to say, Landa is in awe of Allura’s fortitude.

So, while Landa was overwhelmed by the whole Altean courtship process,  _ and the fact that she was expected to be engaged after all of this, _ she was more than willing to do it for Allura if one, she brought a bit of Altea back for the princess, and two, she got the girl in the end.

Sighing, she looked down at her list when Coran was finally done. She had a lot to shit to figure out.

\---

Apparently, every single bit of Landa’s appearance, from how her hair was styled to the type of shoe she worse, and how she presented her gifts was important to express her intentions. She knew it was going to be intense, but good god. 

Over the last two months, she’s had to do a complete wardrobe overhaul, spending more and more time with Coran to help her (as he’s become her #1 supporter). Suddenly, instead of wearing solely jeans and a t-shirt during her downtime, she was wearing skirts (for her intention to be free with her affections) and blouses (various symbolism depending on color and cut) and custom-made cropped jacket thing that made Landa feel like an idiot (though it was supposed to be a symbolism for promising to be honest or something?), especially when Keith spotted her, mocking it in a rude mimicry of her teasing her all those months ago with a smug ass smile.

Whatever. She’d learn a lot about Altean culture and customs, like the fact that apparently it’s acceptable to just sit yourself down beside your ‘intended’ and brush their hair without even asking? The first time Allura had carded her hands through Landa’s long, messy locks, she’d frozen in place, wondering just what the hell Allura’s game was until it was murmured in her ear that back in Altea, it was a sign of wanting to take care of your partner or something, and the fact that Landa just relaxed into it meant that she trusted Allura. It was nice.

Another thing she learned was some basic Altean language. She steered clear of that language learning program in the castle-ship because of Pidge’s horror stories when she wanted to learn, and Landa wasn’t nearly as intelligent as their resident techie, so...pass. She did, however, sit with Allura in the low light of the observation deck, the only sound in the room their give and take, learning the complex language in bits in pieces while wrapped in the stars. Even though it was basically like tutoring, the bright, shining happiness emanating from Allura’s eyes made it feel romantic.

She’d learned about Allura’s religious beliefs that seem most similar to Earth’s Wicca beliefs (which had shocked Landa for about 0.3 seconds before remembering the whole ‘magic quintessence’ thing. It just kind of made sense). She’d learned about Altean art, food, dance, mythology and even shit like body modification (if Landa got excited by the allusion to the fact that Allura might possibly have tattoos under all those layers of clothing, she kept it as underwraps as possible). 

She’d learned a lot about marriage and wedding customs too. Interestingly, they weren’t too differing from all the weddings she’d been to or been involved in (bridesmaid four times around already,  _ hell yeah). _ You weren’t allowed to see your partner for a full  _ two weeks _ before the wedding (to not only finalize everything, but also to build anticipation and love or something like that- if this goes well, Landa isn’t exactly sure how they’re going to pull that one off what with the nature of what they all do). There was still an officiant who oversaw the ceremony, but in Altea this person was usually a close friend who knew the couple well, knew the steps of courtship and approved of their union rather than just a simple officiant or a priest. Flowers were extremely important- apparently, flowers that started wilting before sunset on your wedding day was a Bad Sign™? 

Marrying a royal meant that Landa would also be Altean royalty, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that fact. She was kind of just going with the flow of things and stemming off any panic until  _ after _ the fact...in the privacy of Blue or the bathroom or something.

In return, she taught Allura about Cuban culture, about the political history and Castro’s reign (Allura’s wide-eyed interest was adorable) about the best food in the entire planet of Earth from both her father’s Louisiana Creole and her mother’s Cuban sides (shut up, Hunk, she is  _ not _ biased), about about the Roman Catholic importance of God to her  _ familia _ should Allura ever meet them (her heart skipped every time she even thought about it), about her native language (and delighted in watching the flush suffuse up to the tips of Allura’s ears when Landa called her  _ mi corazón), _ about some of her favorite poems the she could remember (re: probably butchered). 

Lately, she’d taken to teaching Allura to dance the salsa, and almost died at the flush suffused over her cheeks as she watched Landa’s hips sway and shake to the beat. Turns out, though, that even though Altean royals were taught the dances of the peoples in old Altea’s corner of the universe, none of them had any kind of swivel to the hips. Allura wasn’t used to such fluidity to a dance that her body’s movements were...wooden to say the least, so the dance was kind of (re: way) awkward. Landa didn’t care though, considering she got to hold Allura close to her the entire time, and every time she caught the princess after a misstep or over rotation, Landa got to catch her in her arms. Not a bad deal.

Thank  _ Dios _ for the strength in those shoes she’d worn though, because she’s fairly sure at least two toes would be broken by Allura’s heavy steps. 

\---

Oh, Landa hadn’t mentioned any of the gifts and gestures, did she?

Well, apparently, when you were courting an Altean, particularly a Very Important Altean like the princess, you were expected to be creative, thoughtful, generous,  _ and _ sensitive all at once. Shouldn’t be too tough, right? Wrong.

Most of it was okay. The first few weeks were simple, filled with gifts symbolizing “respect” (a carefully drawn likeness of old Altea was Landa’s brilliant idea, in honor of respecting where Allura came from, her home, what made her  _ her), _ “peace” (a plate Landa had found in an old shop on one of the countless planets they’d visited, complete with enchantments meant to bring calm to whoever touched it), “strength and unity” (in which Landa had interpreted as “strength  _ in _ unity, so...matching pendant necklaces with two hands holding one another), and “family” (arguably the most embarrassing gift, considering she’d chosen to buy a onesie as a gesture showing Allura what she was hoping for in the future. When the princess’s eyes filled with tears, Landa thought she’d fucked up until they were paired with a blinding smile. Silver linings). 

After what Landa called phase one, phase two AKA ‘highly specific Altean shit’ week commenced . First, it was a show of strength to symbolize just how far she’d go for the princess in which Landa had to  _ actually _ fight a bear. Or, well, whatever the hell a spurgnolan was?? It looked like a damn bear. Anyway, she had to fight with a friggin’ sword (she’d unashamedly begged Keith probably way too much for his help, but she was past the point of letting her pride get in the way) and wear this overbearingly (ha! over _ bear _ ing) heavy Altean armor that made every movement ten times harder than necessary but had still had probably saved her spine from lacerations in the end, so. Whatever. Landa had walked away from that one alive and with a look of surprised approval from the whole team. Go her.

The next couple of weeks, she was expected to give gifts that symbolized sickness and hard times, so she sang little songs of comfort in her native tongue, made a dinner full of Cuban comfort foods (to the best of her abilities with alien ingredients), wearing the right shades of blue signifying “I’m here for you” and “I will support you.” (Landa briefly wondered if Allura’s color palette of choice was because of this Altean color system too, or if this only applied when courting.) She’d say she nailed that one considering Coran’s Beaming Smile of Approval™.

Communication was arguably the most difficult to figure out, but in the end Landa kept it simple. She’d found a nice, little journal a while back with two faces facing one another that had caught her eye, and now she had an actual use for it. Allura looked baffled when Landa handed it to her until she explained that the idea behind it was that if either of them found it hard to communicate with one another on a verbal level (because words were hard and emotions could be terrifying), they could write it in this shared journal. They’d obviously still talk about things through voice, but Landa had noticed that there were some things that Allura had a hard time choking out, usually opting to drop the subject altogether and bottle it up. Landa didn’t want any of that. It wasn’t good for her, and it wouldn’t be good for their relationship, so the journal was there to act as a safe space to say whatever she needed to say. Allura could write in it right in front of Landa for all she cared. She take it away and write in private if she wanted. She could shove the thing in Landa’s hands and run away so she didn’t have to see her reaction if she was scared to see it. No matter  _ how _ they used it, Landa just wanted it to be there when Allura just couldn’t communicate with her effectively without it. 

For a second, Landa thought Allura was going to kiss her, breaking custom, but turned her head at the last minute, pulling Landa into the highest hug she’d shared with the princess yet, murmurs of praise and appreciation dancing over Landa’s ear. (She hoped Allura didn’t notice the shudder in response.)

Next came ‘honor.’ Literally the only thing Landa could think about was Allura’s father. And mother. And people. Still, Alfor was the easiest to go with considering Landa actually knew what he looked like, and had heard stories about him throughout her time here. She remembered Allura talking about these little, purple flowers native to Altea that reminded her of better times, of sitting out in the fields with her father as a child, marveling at the beauty of her homeworld. Unfortunately, considering Altea was no longer, Landa couldn’t get  _ those _ flowers, but she hunted for something similar- which she’d found on a jungle planet during one of their diplomatic visits (thankfully, Landa wasn’t needed for those meetings quite yet). She’d hoped it wasn’t a faux pas to give two of the same kind of gift, but she also drew a full-color portrait of King Alfor (with the help of Coran’s superb skills of explaining in detail what he looked like- the blue overtone to the castle-ship’s monitors always threw people’s coloring off). She completed the gift with honoring the dead like she would back on Earth.

She framed the portrait, surrounding it with flowers and candles and notes from Coran and herself (things like “I wish I could have met you” and “Allura’s character speaks volumes of how amazing you must have been” and “I hope I deserve your daughter”). She made sure no one would enter the room she’d set it all up in. She walked with Allura, apologizing in advance for the melancholy tone of this gift. Allura’s brow had furrowed in confusion and curiosity as they turned the corner, and froze. 

Allura gasped, eyes flying wide as she took in everything. She knelt by the little pseudo altar Landa had built, hands reverently tracing the careful lines of the portrait, a sorrowful smile overtaking her face. She reached back, and Landa was quick to take the proffered hand, kneeling beside Allura. It was quiet, and the heavy atmosphere should have felt uneasy and suffocating, but though the mood was somber, Landa felt...comfortable. Maybe it had something to do with Allura’s head on Landa’s shoulder, hands tightly between them.

\---

The last two weeks were equally simple and difficult. “Friendship” and “love” shouldn’t be complicated, but how in the hell was she supposed to find a gift that encompassed the depth of her love for Allura? How was she supposed to diminish their friendship to a token? 

She wasn’t happy with her friendship gift because it just wasn’t  _ enough. _ She’d planned a movie night with Allura and the team, whipping up some old Altean-styled snacks (to stick with the courtship theme- and  _ no, _ not that nasty slug shit Coran tried to make them all eat back on Arus). It was nice curling up against the princess for a multitude of reasons. One, she liked the way they fit together. Some may call Landa boyish and awkward, but Allura didn’t seem to mind, her curves fitting along her body just fine. Two, being close enough to catch the floral perfume on Allura’s skin was mouthwatering. Three, nothing felt as good as Allura’s hair tickling her neck. And four, Allura did not give one, single shit about the fact that everyone else was staring. Landa didn’t either...? Don’t get her wrong, it was  _ awesome _ to see the slack-jawed expressions on their faces, but also it was a bit harsh on her ego, their surprise, like it was  _ sooo _ amazing that she could actually be with Allura or something. Fuck them (except her best friend of all best friends, Hunk, who just smiled like he was proud of, and happy for, them. She loved him a lot).

Anyway, it was a bomb night, but it just felt like every other night, and shouldn’t these gifts be constantly amazing or something? She’d expressed her concerns with Allura after everyone begged off for the night, rambling awkwardly, nervously. She didn’t want to fuck this up, and if anyone  _ could _ fuck it up, it was undoubtedly Landa, and Allura deserved someone who could give her the world. No, the  _ universe, _ and Landa wasn’t sure if-

Allura had cut off her babbling with a graze of her soft fingers over her lips. Allura was  _ beaming. _ Not that tiny, reserved smile or even the normal, content smile, but a big, bright, blinding grin that Landa’s  _ positive _ she’d never seen before. She was pretty sure she’d remember that Allura had dimples hidden away if only she smiled wide enough. Allura reassured her that tonight, that something so simple, was the perfect expression of their friendship- it wasn’t overdone or fake or over the top. It was just  _ them _ enjoying a night with their friends without the pomp and circumstance of courtship. According to the princess, it was perfect.

\---

So here Landa is now, staring at the last gift she has for the courtship process, hoping this will be enough too.

Just staring at it makes Landa’s heart race, and the emotions churning inside her are a mix of excitement and elation and anxiety and hysterical and grounded, laced throughout with a hint of true fear. While she’s almost positive Allura will accept, what if she doesn’t?

No, hear her out. What if, at the very end of all this, in about maybe 20 minutes, Allura looks at the gift of ‘love’ and realizes they should have stopped at ‘friendship?’ What if the past 11 or so weeks end up being for nothing (well, not nothing- having Allura as a friend is better than having Allura as nothing, but still. You know what she means)? What if Allura rejects her in front of the entire team?

Or worse! Landa has respected each and every one of Allura’s chaste boundaries, but what if she  _ does _ accept it only to regret it after the fact? As far as she knows, there have been exactly three divorces in Altean history- two because their spouses became criminals a la murder, and one because he regretted accepting his husband’s love, only realizing his mistake  _ after _ the vows had been made. 

Like  _ fuck, _ does Landa have a fear of abandonment. This is probably the actual worst, this self-doubt. Hunk would probably call her an idiot for even suggesting that Allura would say no. 

She looks down at her datapad. Five minutes til showtime. She checks her hair, her rarely-down natural waves smooth and glossy and  _ not _ frizzy to shit. Good. She checks her makeup (or almost complete lack thereof), hoping to all hell that the little pink markings she created on her cheeks wasn’t going overboard (even though Coran had been the one to suggest it). Perfect. Her outfit is more formal than any that she’s worn so far, a floor-length dress, white to symbolize the ‘purity of her truth.’ Meaning, her intentions are pure, and she’s going into this with an open mind and and open heart.  _ (Dios, _ she hopes her open heart doesn’t get pummeled today.) The sleeves bell out just a touch at her wrists, reminding her of her mother’s old wedding photos.  _ (Not a good time for that, brain.) _ She’s wearing the paired necklace she got Allura, her nails are clean and free of lacquer, and she’s barefoot.

The whole point behind this look is just...going in just as she is (save the Altean markings), giving herself up entirely to her love, and while she was pretty terrified of it in the beginning, she’s grown to look forward to a life with Allura, and she can only hope that everything goes according to plan.

When the timer goes off, she grabs the last gifts, squares her shoulders, throwing a (pseudo) confident “you’ve got this” to her reflection before stepping out into the hall. She walks through the halls of the castle-ship, back straight, head held high as she goes on the hunt for Allura.

Shiro and Keith startle when she passes by them with a smile, without a word, and they follow her in curiosity, (not so) subtly whispering to one another their wonderings about what this was about (she wasn’t about to tell Shiro he hit the nail on the head though). Passing by the lab, she collects a grinning Hunk and curious Pidge. She wants to tell them all to pipe down behind her, but she can’t find it in herself to care when she rounds the corner and-

Allura’s standing there in the observation deck, decked in an outfit similar to Landa’s (though the minor details Landa catches as she closes the distance between them make her heart flutter). Allura’s wide, blue eyes dance over her face. She bites her lip on a grin when she spots the markings, causing the corners of Landa’s lips to aim to stretch to her ears. Landa notices the way Allura’s hair is free from her usual ties and spots the distinct lack of Allura’s circlet, and for some reason that makes her want to hide Allura away from everyone, like she could possibly be the only one to see the princess like this. Allura must be a master at reading Landa like a book because the playful smirk and the coy tilt of her head is anything but innocent. Landa glares playfully, taking a deep breath before pulling out the two boxes she has to offer the princess.

“The only thing I could think of to give to you as a symbol of my love for you is...me.” Landa says, breathy with nerves as she opens the first box. Inside is a ring, a gold that matched Allura’s circlet exactly, with little diamonds bordering a polished rose quartz gemstone. Apparently, rose quartz had the same basic symbolism and properties on Altea as it does on Earth- love, friendship, inner healing, peace. Diamonds are forever, as they say, so...it seemed like a good call. “I know this isn’t quite  _ Altean _ standards, but it’s definitely Earth’s, and if you accept my hand, you’ll be married to a human, so I thought-”

“Yes!” Allura blurts, clapping a hand over her mouth immediately after her outburst, and Landa gapes for less than a second as her nerves all but leave her before cracking up, clutching her stomach when she catches Allura’s embarrassed, little “oh, quiznak.” 

She wants  _ so badly _ to pitch forward, pressing her lips to Allura’s, but that  _ still _ has to wait (and yes, that vagina blue balls thing is fucking real, okay, but she’s worth it). Once her laughter dies down, she notices Allura’s wooden smile. She immediately settles down, though her amused smile lingers as she fondly says, “I love you.”

And suddenly, Allura’s smile is back to that bright beam. “I-I love you too.” 

Landa offers the ring to Allura, who looks down at her hands for a moment in confusion before looking back to Landa. Reaching for her left hand, Landa slips the ring onto the ring finger, breath catching in her throat as the weight of this moment hits her.

Before she allows herself to cry, she pulls out the second gift, a more appropriate Altean-styled circlet (and let her tell you, the blacksmith had given her one hell of a weird look when she brought the design to them). According to Altean culture, royalty wore specific adornments given by their parents until their intended provided a new one for them to wear. It’s a very clear proclamation of “this one’s mine.” Landa was and is into that idea, so she made sure to make it something special.

It’s still gold, to match her ring, but instead of one, plain ring around her head with one small, triangular gem, the new one has an interwoven band to symbolize Allura branching from single to being partnered. It’s a small way to let others (who know about Altean symbolization) know that Allura is taken, and that their bond is strong. Though the center dips in a mimicry of her old circlet and is bordered with more rose quartz, Landa purposefully left a triangular space in the middle so that if Allura should choose, she can refit that little, turquoise gem in with it- a unity of past and present. (Landa put a lot of thought into this.) 

Allura’s breath stutters on an exhale as she traces a finger over the intricate design. 

“I have accepted your courtship. I accept your proposal. I will accept your hand.” Allura says through a smile, and Landa feels like she could fly, only to hit outerspace (which, hilarious, considering they’re already there) when Allura threads their fingers together, palm to palm, as she rests her forehead against Landa’s.

“I suppose it’s time to plan for our wedding.” Landa breathes, letting everyone and everything else but her and Allura fall away.

Coran bursts into tears.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure how I feel about this one, but I hope y'all like it! Kudos and comments are appreciated! <3
> 
> Next up: Pallura, "Nature"


End file.
